Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
Most of us live under a few assumptions about health:
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The heavier/fatter you are, the more unhealthy you are
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Skinnier/lighter is better
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If you are overweight, you will be healthier if you just lose weight
Simple, right?
Wrong. That second part is especially messy and wrong. Oftentimes being unhealthy (often in ways other than being overweight) puts the breaks on weight loss efforts. Your body can’t function like a lean, mean, fat-burning machine if it’s sick. So why do we all expect to be able to bench press our way back to health?
Examples of weight loss “breaks” (I call them “metabolic monkey wrenches”) include:
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Inflammation
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Many causes and types
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Fatigue
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Many causes
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Nutritional deficiencies (vitamins, minerals)
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Anemia (which causes fatigue)
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Constipation (poop can weigh a LOT and constipation can signify other problems)
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Hypothyroidism (which causes fatigue and slows metabolism)
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Leptin resistance
My Health Update
In September I updated my readers and talked about my struggle with mono (Epstein-barr virus) and working myself too hard. In the last couple of months I have come a long way.
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I have given myself more rest time and made some changes in my life and business to increase efficiency. It’s the old “work smarter not harder” thing, which is still really solid life advice in general.
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My WBC count is coming back up and I feel like I’m winning the fight with my viruses/bugs again.
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My brain fog is significantly better.
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My energy level is significantly better.
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Except days like today when my night owl child kept me up late. Hah!
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I’m still holding on to about 25 extra pounds since Jess was born. I haven’t put any effort into losing that weight yet because of various health reasons between she and I, but the most recent one was this EBV/fatigue flare.
Well, as cliche as it is (being January, and all), I finally feel ready to hit the gym for real. If you see me at Planet Fitness or Belly Blast in Chapel Hill be sure to say hi!
May all of your resolutions stick,
